Take Me Back
by Constance Truggle
Summary: Derived from a mini-drabble. Cloud and Sephiroth both go back. Genesis, Angeal and Zack are all there when the two meet up. One-Shot. Hints towards Seph/Cloud of the pre-slash, currently-one-sided variety. No longer a one-shot! WIP
1. We're Back

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. I make no money off this. Hell, I don't even own the beginning of this.**

**A/N: **This is all due to x-YaoiWolf-x. You see, she began this project, a series of mini-drabbles based on shuffled playlists. I don't explain well. Read her story. It's called **'It's an FFVII Advent Shuffle 2011!'**. This is the very last song of chapter seventeen. I will post that here, then continue on from there. Posted with her permission. ^.^

_**Take Me Back - Story of the Year - 4:07**_

_"Are you sure, Cloud?" She asked him for the third time since he'd come here. "Do you really want to do this?" Cloud sighed and resisted the urge to turn and try to speak to her face to face instead of back to back the way they were now._

_"Of course I am, Aerith," He answered. "I think this will work." He heard her echo his earlier sigh but he could tell she was going to allow it. He felt her shrug against his back and he nodded assurance to what was about to happen. "Take me back, Aerith."_

_"Alright, Cloud," She told him. "Just remember, you're not the only one being sent back with all your memories."_

_He nodded. He already knew this. Sephiroth would go back, too. Hopefully, he wasn't about to do something incredibly stupid. "Thank you, Aerith." He breathed and there was suddenly nothing but darkness._

* * *

><p>Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal and Zack were all out in the Midgar Wastes. The Firsts needed to let off steam, and Angeal had brought Zack along for training. Sephiroth didn't care, so long as the others stayed out of his way. He was working through memories of being used, being a puppet to an alien and a mad scientist. He was having a hard time dealing, however. And the others noticed, watching him plow through any monster he saw.<p>

"What do you think's got into him?" Zack asked the older Firsts.

"_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul_," was Genesis' reply. A reply that caused the silver-haired man to stop and stare at him momentarily. Then silver hair went flying as the head snapped around.

He felt something. Sephiroth knew that feeling, he could _sense_ those eyes on him. He sharply turned his head, eyes seeking out the cliffs overlooking the Wastes. He thought he saw an outline of the Buster Sword there, but it faded and his view was of nothing more than the cliffs, jagged against the sky. But as he turned back to his friends, he caught a glimmer of movement, a shimmer of gold and silver. He automatically stepped into an attack stance, Masamune over his right shoulder. His companions stepped back, twisting to see what caught the man's attention, but they could see nothing. Nevertheless, the general sprinted forward, blade high and ready to strike.

* * *

><p>From the shadows of the cliffs, on the same level as the Firsts and Second, a black and blond blur shot towards them. A black and silver blur met it halfway, sparks flying as steel met steel. A flurry of blows on the ground and in the air landed the two, blades locked together, mere feet from the Red Commander. He was shocked (although he'd never show it) when his friend looked at the stranger, a genuine smile curving his lips.<p>

"Good to see you, Cloud."

"Wish I could say the same, Sephiroth," the blond replied, his soft voice not as amused as the Silver General's. The redhead wondered what the connection was between these two, for there was definitely a connection of some sort. But, as far as he knew, Sephiroth deigned to speak to only three people outside of ShinRa activity requirements, and all three were already with him when this blond stranger appeared.

"Doesn't it satisfy you to have someone at your level again? To put effort into your fight and feel alive?" the taller man was saying, his head tilted just slightly, seven foot long sword still locked against a mechanical looking Buster shaped sword.

The stranger –Cloud, was it?– stared into green eyes, face serious as death. "Are you crazy?" he inquired, causing Zackary to laugh, only to abruptly cease as he saw that nobody else was at all amused.

"I am not," Genesis' long time friend replied, a softening of his features accompanying his words.

"Good. But remember, I'm keeping an eye on you, and I _will_ kill you if I have to."

Genesis, Angeal and Zack all gaped, and even more so when Sephiroth nodded in agreement and murmured that he expected no less. Then the two were off again, swords flashing and limit breaks sweeping out at each other. Genesis was in a state of shock as Masamune pierced the blond through only to be yanked out by said blond and the fight resuming. He couldn't hear the taunts being tossed back and forth, nor could he really even see the moves that were being used, the two going faster than the red clad man had ever seen.

* * *

><p>"That was <em>amazing<em>!" Zack exclaimed, bouncing around like the puppy he was called. The two fighters had only just ended their spar, and the kid was already all over them. But he stilled, as did the other two Firsts when Sephiroth chuckled. Even the blond stared at him, but for the reason that he'd never heard the man laugh without a tinge of madness and cruelty to it.

"Cloud, allow me to introduce you. Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley and Zackary Fair, this is Cloud Strife."

"A pleasure to meet you," Cloud murmured softly, his eyes never leaving the youngest of the group.

It appeared that whatever hostility there existed between the silver-haired man and the blond man was gone now, and the loss of that level of tension was a relief. The two stayed on opposite sides of the group as they made their way to Midgar, but blue eyes rarely left the General or the Puppy, and jade eyes never left the new addition. Both still had their swords out, even as they neared the gates into the city. Finally, Genesis had had enough. He stopped and flung a fira at Sephiroth and another at Cloud. Both dodged quickly enough, but he had their attention now.

"Look, I don't give a shit what kind of history you two have, but do you really need your swords out?"

Both reluctantly put them away, Cloud pulling a blade off his sword to the astonishment of the others, before sliding both into his harness. He had made it so he had a blade accessible to each hand.

"Your paranoia is showing, Cloud," Sephiroth goaded the blond, who declined to respond. "I would offer you my apartment to stay in, if you have no other yet," the general continued. That got a response.

"No! Gaia, could you see _us_ sharing living space? No, I'll stay in the slums, thank you. Far from you and far from _Hojo_," the blond said, shuddering at the last.

Sephiroth got a queer look on his face, then. Something that was odd in itself, as he usually kept his expression under strict control. Cloud was no good at reading expressions, or even recognizing emotion. But Genesis and Angeal both understood; Sephiroth was _jealous_!

Zack, oblivious to the danger he was coming very close to, looked at Sephiroth curiously. "Sir, why is your face all screwed up like that?" And even with the murderous glare now being directed the young SOLDIER's way, Cloud laughed. Well, it was more of a quiet chuckle, but the green eyed man stared at him in a complete reversal from when he himself had laughed.

Sephiroth's ire wasn't forgotten, however. He faced his blond rival and nearly demanded that the man come home with him, and he wasn't going to go stay with _her_ and besides, Cloud's mako eyes would give _her _mother reason to forbid his presence anywhere near _her_. Unfortunately for Cloud, he was right. So the only warrior who was an actual match for The Great General Sephiroth had to acquiesce. It was either that, or find a dirty, bug infested hotel in the slums. He wasn't even sure he actually had any gil, and Sephiroth certainly wouldn't lend him any just to go against the general's wishes.

"Fine. But I have to leave soon. I have some unfinished business back home."

A silver eyebrow arched questioningly, vaguely recalling that the boy was from Nibelheim and Jenova was there, so it would be in his best interests _not_ to accompany him. "Is there anyone you trust to take with you?" he queried.

Cloud thought for a moment before shaking his head. Tseng and his Turks were too loyal to Rufus. Aerith wouldn't be able to go even if she did remember, which he was doubting. It would be too suspicious to all but the Demon of Wutai if he requested Zack, which would be nixed by Angeal, anyway. And he didn't know Angeal and Genesis at all, so it was going to be just him.

"What are you up against there?" Sephiroth pressed.

"Wolves, dragons, dorky faces... I think the most dangerous will be Lost Number, though. The rest will be easy."

"Genesis will go with you."

"I'm not babysitting your friends, Sephiroth."

"I'm not asking you to, Cloud."

"Hey!" Genesis interjected. "I do not require _babysitting_!"

"Then why does he need to go?" Cloud demanded, completely ignoring the furious redhead. The two dark heads were bouncing back and forth, watching the two fair men go at it.

"He's degrading. He needs what you will find there to _survive_, Cloud! Isn't that what you do? Help people?" Sephiroth sneered, ignoring the shocked look on his friends' faces.

"Fine. I'll take him, and he can go through the reports. Then I'm torching the place. I'm removing _all_ traces of Hojo's activities there, do you understand?"

The silver man nodded, leading the others through the city and back to ShinRa towers. This was going to be one hell of a second chance.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Wow. That was a lot more than I expected to write. More info, and with the possibility of more story. It is complete for now, but leaving it open ended like this leaves me the ability to continue with it at a later date if I so choose. Not sure I actually _like_ how this turned out, honestly. I was going to leave it at the first horizontal line, but then the rest just appeared. It was like magic. Perhaps Dark Magicks were involved... Let me know what you think, yeah?

**18 December 2011**

**Word Count: 1770**


	2. The Menace

**Disclaimer: I own nothing FFVII.**

**A/N: **Oh boy. First off, while I left this open to be expanded on, I never actually thought I would. So this was a surprise. But I got to thinking how post ACC!Cloud would handle Genesis' particular brand of insanity.

Secondly, as you may or may not know, I cycle through fandoms. When I'm in a fandom, I'm in _that_ fandom _only_. But as I run out of stories I haven't yet read or my interest is caught by something else, I move on. I eventually come back, but while I'm in other fandoms, my interest in my current stories in the fandoms I'm not reading wanes. That's why there's such a huge gap between updates sometimes. I'm still trying to talk myself back into the HP fandom, but Rowling kinda ruined it for me, so I'm having a hard time. Nevertheless, I _will_ finish this story as well as **_Time to Change_**. It's just gonna take time.

Thirdly, if anybody wants to take a stab at what happened between Genesis and Cloud during the trip to and from Nibelheim, I'd be interested in seeing it. I'm not going to write that set of scenes. So a big **THANK YOU** for the reviews this story got and the interest in continuing it.

* * *

><p><strong>Take Me Back<strong>

_**Chapter Two: The Menace**_

Three weeks after leaving Midgar, Cloud returned, almost storming into Sephiroth's apartment. He ignored the three men gathered there as he put his fusion sword against the wall. His clothes were filthy with dirt and what appeared to be bits of monster and something _else_ that was soaking nearly the length of Cloud's right side. His harness followed his sword before he continued his not-stomping into the bathroom. Less than a minute later and the three SOLDIERs heard the shower come on.

Blinking wide violet eyes, Zack turned to his mentor. "What do you think _that's_ all about?" he asked.

"I don't know," Angeal murmured. But he resolved to find out from his friend, for if Cloud was back, so was Genesis. If Cloud was in need of a shower, though, then Genesis certainly must be, too. And Genesis was notorious for taking long showers.

Sephiroth, however, wore a slight smirk. As if he had an idea behind Cloud's behavior. And perhaps he did. Cloud was, after all, Sephiroth's friend. Of a sort. Ah well. They'd find out eventually, he was sure.

* * *

><p>Cloud felt immeasurably better after his shower. The world was fresher and brighter, and he entered the living room in higher spirits that only lifted more when he saw who was there. More importantly, who <em>wasn't<em>! Running his fingers through his wet spikes, he settled into the only open seat available; sharing the couch with Sephiroth. He leaned forward a bit, resting his forehead in his palms. He could feel the eyes on him and inhaled a deep, calming breath. Without lifting his head, he turned it slightly to glare into green eyes.

"You're a sadist," he said. Mobile lips twitched into a half smile as Cloud stared balefully at the man. "How you put up with that lunatic all the time is beyond me!"

Angeal started, a frown on his face. "Genesis is a bit eccentric, yes-"

"Eccentric? You think he's _eccentric_?" Cloud asked in disbelief. "If I have to hear one more verse from that book he carries around like a security blanket, I'm going to set it on fire. After I slice it to pieces..." he trailed off, grumbling. Casting his gaze sideways once more, he saw Sephiroth was having a hard time keeping his mirth to himself. "Don't think I won't stab you if you laugh," he muttered, causing the older man to lose his battle and let his laughter roll out.

"I don't see what you're complaining about, Cloud. You only had to deal with it for three weeks, after all," the Silver General said, still chuckling slightly. "Did you get everything you needed done?"

Cloud sighed and finally sat back. "Yeah. She's been taken care of and all the false leads were gone through. Commander Quotes-a-lot sorted them out into printed and journaled, then we dug into them and got rid of the blatant lies, discussed the dubious ones until we determined which were fake and what was real, and set the entire manor ablaze." The blond turned a queer look upon the other men. "Your friend is a pyromaniac, did you know? He had far too much fun with it. On the bright side, I made a new old acquaintance before we torched the place."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Vincent. I wasn't going to leave him in there with what we were doing to it, after all," he said, glancing up with a groan as the door opened and Genesis entered the apartment. "Does everyone just wander in here like they live here?" Cloud asked his ex-nemesis.

"Oh, like you're a bucket of sunshine to be around!" the redhead exclaimed. "Now budge over so I can sit," he demanded, garnering raised eyebrows, one blond and one silver. It was amusing to Cloud to note that neither he nor Sephiroth were inclined to make room for him. Possibly because neither were inclined to sit so close to the other. Possibly because both were inclined to antagonize Genesis. Perhaps both reasons existed. With an unexpected shove, however, Cloud went sailing sideways, his head landing on a leather clad thigh. Scrambling up, he grudgingly scooted over to the center of the couch as Genesis had already squeezed himself into the opening Cloud's tipped body gave him.

"We hear you enjoyed burning the place down," Sephiroth said, ignoring the blond's red face. "And that you made a new friend."

"A friend?" Genesis inquired.

"He wasn't there for that bit," Cloud said. "He was in the library most of the time while I was getting the rest handled."

"I see. Can we expect a visit from him?" the general inquired.

"Doubtful. He's after Hojo, and we don't factor into that."

"He may need access..." Sephiroth left the suggestion open.

Cloud nodded, resolving to make the silver haired menace explain all the double talking and vague references for his friends. "He may, but he _was_ a Turk, after all. I'm sure he can get where he needs to go. I've offered to help him take Hojo out when he makes his move, though. You're welcome to join us."

Sephiroth wore a contemplative expression while the two dark haired SOLDIERs wore varying degrees of horror and disgust at the open and easy discussion of taking someone's life. Genesis just looked bored. The general nodded once, a short, jerky motion that endeared him just a tiny bit to Cloud. Hojo had wronged all three of them, and they all deserved to be there for his death.

"As for your secondary mission, did you get the information we need to save them?"

The blond swordsman looked nearly defeated for just a moment. "No. Jenova wouldn't have helped them. Your cells _might_, but I'd rather not introduce more mutated cells into them unless we have to. The only thing I can think of is what did away with the 'Stigma, but she's not levelled enough to have acquired Great Gospel yet. Taking her out to level up would be the best bet, but we've got to get the Turks off her, first." Cloud had talked about this a bit with Genesis while they were traveling. He'd explained that what Hollander had done to him – and Angeal, apparently, but Cloud hadn't known that until Genesis had told him – would cause his cells to begin degrading, eventually killing him if he wasn't cured. Then he dropped his bombshell: They didn't actually _have_ a cure. Yet. He'd said that was what the older man would be searching the books and notes for. Cloud wasn't very optimistic about it, but it was worth a shot.

"According to Cloud, Tseng is – _was_? – friends with this girl, so perhaps explaining that we're also trying to keep her safe from Hojo's clutches would make him more amenable to assisting us?" the redhead suggested.

"It's well worth a try," was the reply. Angeal and Zack were hopelessly confused and frustrated, but nobody wanted to tell them something that would hurt them. Cloud knew just how devastated Zack would be if he were to lose Angeal, and the other two were worried about what Angeal would do if he knew. Sephiroth found it amazing that the fiery-tempered man hadn't flown off alone again. Perhaps, since at least two others knew of his condition, he wasn't so gung ho about figuring it all out alone? Whatever the case, he was grateful that his long time friend hadn't abandoned them to figure it out on his own. No matter what they said about the silver man, Genesis was just as private. And more prone to keeping others out of the loop when it concerned him.

He worried about his friends, now more than before since he now knew what was at stake. Of the five men in the room, not one of them wasn't damaged horribly in the _Before_. Three dead, one not knowing who he was and having his memories still missing or fragmented, the last losing all sense of self as he was taken over by an insane alien.

"Hey! Are you gonna tell us what's going on or are you going to keep talking around us like we're idiots?" Zack demanded, looking utterly peeved and very definitely out of patience.

Cloud and Genesis both looked to Sephiroth, though the redhead only knew a part of the story. Sephiroth sighed and idly wished for the days when he was being hunted to be killed. At least then he didn't have to walk this delicate line.

* * *

><p>After the two were filled in on what they had deemed would be called Genesis' condition so as not to unduly worry the darker men, conversation turned to how to explain Cloud's presence in ShinRa. With his enhancements, he would never make it out of the science department after his physical, so joining SOLDIER was out of the question until Hojo could be removed. But what other reason for being in the building and living with Sephiroth?<p>

"Perhaps Lazard could make an exception on the physical?" Zack suggested.

Angeal shook his head. "No. The physical is required so that the medical team has a baseline if anything really bad happens."

"I could just go back to being a mercenary," Cloud offered. "Get a place off the ShinRa compound."

"No, that wouldn't work. The waiting list to get something on the plate is years long, and you can't live below the plate if you expect to be able to remain in contact with us. ShinRa wouldn't allow their precious general to associate with slum trash," was Genesis' contribution.

Cloud sighed. "I could move to Kalm, I suppose."

"No."

The blond eyed Sephiroth. "Well, do you have anything _other_ than a no to offer? A reason behind it maybe? Or perhaps a solution?"

Sephiroth _did_ have a solution, actually. He just wasn't certain how well the blond would take it. But it solved all the problems they'd identified so far. The mako enhancements could be partially explained by that, and partially by saying he fell into mako in Mideel. His S-cells could also be accounted for in this way, and it would keep him in Sephiroth's apartment. Now to explain his thoughts to his would-be friend. Colleague? Co-conspirator? At any rate, he just _knew_ the blond was going to explode at this. Perhaps a private discussion would be better...

* * *

><p><strong>End Note:<strong> Let me know what you think of it! Sorry it's more dialogue than anything. It's a balance that I'm still trying to master. Thanks for reading!

Also, this takes place pre-DoC, so they believe Genesis to have died since they don't know about Deepground.

_**Word Count: 1763**_

_**13 June 2012**_


	3. The Proposal

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**A/N:** Wow! It's been an age and a half. Fail. So first, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed and/or favorited. You guys rock. 77 emails will be going out with this update, so yaya! Secondly, thank you for your patience with me. It's not long, it's not awe-inspiring, but it is the next chapter. Part of this has been written for well over a year, but some of it just wasn't working. And I was submerged in the _Sherlock_ fandom for most of that time. I hope you enjoy it! I'm off to work on the next chapter for **_Time to Change_ **now.

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><p><strong>Take Me Back <strong>

_**Chapter Three: The Proposal**_

Contrary to how it sounded, Cloud actually liked Genesis. The man reminded him a lot of Yuffie. Small doses of him and he was fine. More than that was bound to try the patience of the Goddess, however. He was arrogant, rude, conceited and very full of his abilities. He was also a good friend to those he called such, talented with Materia, knowledgeable about more than that stupid play he kept reciting at every turn and trustworthy. He was hard to handle but had your back in a fight in a way that made Cloud not worry about him. At all. Which was strange. Only Vincent had ever inspired such confidence in his abilities from Cloud, although he would wager that Angeal and definitely Sephiroth would be just the same. Four people he didn't need to concern himself with in a fight. He worried about the others, which could be deadly. It was a relief to have the redhead at his side, then.

Before leaving for Nibelheim, Sephiroth had divulged the extent of Genesis' illness and the basic facts about what he'd learned. Cloud had then shared with Genesis, and the man knew he wasn't alone in his plight. Cloud liked to think it helped. He also chose to tell the man some truths about himself and Sephiroth.

* * *

><p>"<em>You know, Sephiroth recently found out about his own upbringing. I think that's how he found out about you, too," Cloud began, watching Genesis from his peripheral. When the man slowly nodded, Cloud figured he'd caught the implication.<em>

"_Sephiroth was raised by Professor Hojo, you know? He claims to be the progenitor of the greatest creation known to Gaia." Cloud stared off into nothingness while holding the rapt attention of the man across from him. "What kind of man says that to a kid? He never said he was proud of his son or that his child was the strongest SOLDIER there was. No, he was just boastful about his creation, his experiment, his _specimen_," Cloud spat the last word out. _

"_How do you know so much about it?" Genesis queried. _

"_There are a lot of things I know about Sephiroth," the blond said. When he continued, his voice was very quiet. "But the last bit there, I know that because Hojo would go on and on about Sephiroth while he was working on me." The admittance was painful. Everyone he knew had known for many years, so having to share that bit of himself with another hurt. It hurt in a way he was unprepared for, so he moved along the back of the truck to ask the driver how much longer until they reached the mountains. It didn't matter that he knew the route like he knew Fenrir; he just needed something to get him away from the awfulness of it all. He'd made the conscious decision to let the man know there were others like him, but that was it. He couldn't bare his soul to someone. It wasn't in his make-up and he barely knew the man, besides. _

* * *

><p>But it helped. Genesis became more snarky and less sullen as the time went by; especially as the man read much of what Sephiroth had gone through.<p>

When they were in Nibelheim, Cloud discovered a couple things. First, the locals were blind. To not notice the shady business going on on ShinRa property? Odd. Even if it was private property, the kids always dared each other to get close to the mansion if not go right inside; or get up close to the reactor. And he counted himself among those blind fools, since he hadn't seen anything as a child, either. Second, Gaia or Minerva or hell, even Aerith... somebody had made it so he didn't exist in a younger form here. His mother wasn't even a Strife here. She was a Flaxwood, and had a brunette daughter. He didn't want to ponder on that; especially since the girl seemed popular enough. Well liked, at the very least. And apparently rather happy to consider settling down soon. The folk of Nibelheim tended to marry young, after all, and she looked to be docilely looking for her lifelong partner. Cloud had never had that. Nobody liked him; he was a runt and too smart and too weak to be anything but a bully's wet dream. He couldn't wait to leave and the girl was his opposite. So he was relieved that he wasn't usurping his own place here. And lastly, Hojo was too confident; secure in the knowledge that his precious Jenova specimen was safe. He hadn't expected her to be there, to be honest, and was shocked when she was.

Now, he was in Midgar and Sephiroth just told him they needed to talk. His ex-nemesis told him they'd need to be out in the wastes, at least, before he'd talk though. Apparently, he didn't expect Cloud's reaction to what he wanted to say to him to be in any way favorable. This had piqued the blond's curiosity. What could the man want that would cause Cloud to need space to beat on things? So with a confused state of mind, he trailed after the ShinRa poster boy and into the wastes.

* * *

><p>Zack, having been unceremoniously shuffled out of his friend's apartment with his mentor and Genesis, looked perplexedly at those men. "Well, that was special!" he said, in reference to Sephiroth's curt dismissal of them.<p>

"Indeed, Puppy. But not wholly unexpected," was Angeal's reply.

Genesis just waved a hand about. "Sephiroth will get his way, as always. Perhaps it'll improve his attitude." The redhead fiddled with his PHS before sending his silver friend a message.

_My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess._

* * *

><p>Cloud was searching out monsters now. He was angry, he was baffled, and he was actually considering it. He thought about all he knew of Sephiroth, and of Zack and Vincent. He thought about what he learned of Genesis and Angeal. How Genesis was more fragile than he wanted others to know. How Angeal was honorable, but would follow his friend into the deepest pits of hell if Genesis gave any indication that he was wanted. How Sephiroth was left alone because of that deep and abiding friendship; and because of Hollander's experimentation going wrong, of course. Cloud wasn't so certain that Hojo hadn't sabotaged his fellow scientist, in fact. And that thought brought Cloud's thoughts back to Vincent, and he wondered how his old friend was doing on his self-imposed mission. He also hoped he'd be let in on the action. Of course, that meant that he would have to be on the run from ShinRa again for killing the director of their Science Department. He was surprisingly torn about that. And it would put Sephiroth in a very awkward position, if Cloud took him up on his offer. And hadn't <em>that<em> conversation blown the blond's mind! The problem was, he really _was_ actually considering it. After getting over his mad, he realized it may be the best solution to their problem. But for _Sephiroth_, of all people, to suggest such a thing!

* * *

><p><em>They had gotten far out into the Wastes before Sephiroth turned to Cloud.<em>

"_I have a solution to your problem, Cloud," the general said. His uncharacteristicly hesitant tone caught Cloud's attention even more than the words. _

"_Oh?" the blond had asked, unsure if he really wanted to know. _

"_Please listen with an open mind. What I am proposing does cover all the points you enumerated earlier."_

_A blond eyebrow lifted in query._

"_I would suggest that you claim to be..." Sephiroth looked away, took a deep breath, then continued. "My lover."_

_The reaction was instantaneous. "_No_! No way! How could you- What would make you- Just... why?" The final word had come out far more confused than Cloud would have liked, but if he and this _sane_ Sephiroth – although his sanity was debatable at the moment – were to work together more, he knew he would have to let him in a bit. And.. well, the man was kind of growing on him._

* * *

><p>Sephiroth hadn't answered Cloud's question, but hours of pondering it had led the blond to some basic conclusions on his own. Cloud and Sephiroth knew more about each other now that anyone else knew of them. They shared a tumultuous history – adversarial, yes, but it was theirs – that bound them tighter than mere friendship ever could. Neither were strangers to having a platonic bedmate, and they <em>would<em> have to share in order to keep the ruse up. But therein lay Cloud's largest objections. Living with Sephiroth would keep them close, and make it easier for Cloud to take action should it be necessary. However, it also left him vulnerable to the silver-haired warrior. He couldn't keep up a state of readiness and cautious alertness indefinitely. It just wasn't possible. So the question then became, could he do it? Could he learn to trust this man that was once his enemy?

* * *

><p>Sephiroth glanced down at his PHS as it chimed with a message alert. Genesis really did hit the proverbial nail on the head sometimes. He smirked as he replied.<p>

_Loveless. Act Three._

That done, he resumed watching Cloud. He had good form, no useless or unnecessary flourishes while fighting. Nothing like Zackary or even Genesis, in fact. He found himself oddly anxious waiting for Cloud's answer. He also found himself hoping for the smaller man to acquiesce. Cloud was, after all, his equal in nearly everything. They would suit, and perhaps would even make the ruse reality one day. But Sephiroth's first concern was to gain the friendship of his fellow time traveler. Who was currently returning to him. The blond stopped in front of Sephiroth, who eyed him for injuries briefly before lifting an eyebrow.

"I've made a decision," Cloud said.

* * *

><p><em><strong>End Note: <strong>_So. Good? Bad? Ugly? Let me know!

_**Word Count: 1663**_

_**11 February 2014**_


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